Closure forces Tarcoola residents to move 200km away from the love of their life

“If you do this, you’ll kill them:” Married couples who have been by each other’s sides for more than six decades face being torn apart for the first time ever, as the Western Downs Regional Council announced the Tara aged care facility will soon close.

HEARTBROKEN: Tarcoola resident Ivy Hite, 82, and her husband Ray Hite 89 will be forced to separate if Tarcoola closes. Pic: Supplied

Tara residents with loved ones living at Tarcoola are at a loss as to how they’re going to see the spouses they have spent their lives with, as Western Downs Regional Council moves ahead with the planned closure of the facility.

There’s a growing fear that after being side-by-side for close to seven decades some married couples won’t have much time left together, with no available beds in the Western Downs.

HEARTBROKEN: Tarcoola resident Neil Smith said it’s a disgraceful of the Western Downs Regional Council to close Tarcool. Pic: Peta McEachern

When looking after his wife of 63 years was too much to take on, Neil Smith had no choice but to lean on Tarcoola for assistance.

The 84-year-old said he decided to stay by Gwenda’s side and moved into the aged care facility seven months ago.

“She suffers from dementia, so I went in to keep her settled down.

“We don’t know where we are going or what’s going on. It’s terrible.”

CLOSED: The Tarcoola Aged Care Facility in Tara on the Western Downs has been forced to close because the council said it legally can't run with the amount of staff on the roster. Pic: Supplied

As soon as Tara tradesman Peter Hite caught wind of the sudden meeting, he dropped his tools and raced to the side of his 82-year-old mother Ivy, who has lived at Tarcoola for nine years.

“Everyone just started crying and yelling,” he said.

Mr Hite told the council representatives, “If you do this, you will kill them.”

“When these people leave it will be detrimental to their health, a lot of them are going to get sick.”

Tarcoola resident Ivy Hite, 82, and her husband Ray Hite 89 will be forced to separate if Tarcoola closes. Pic: Supplied

Mr Hite said his 89-year-old father, who lives nearby, was at a loss as to how he’d see his wife of 68 years.

“My father lives in an independent unit and he moved there to be close to her – he’s very upset,” he said.

“If she’s moved away, how many times is he going to be able to visit her before one of them is gone?”

Ray said the couple sold their house to fund Ivy’s stay at Tarcoola when her health took a turn for the worst.

“It’s really bad. I go there four hours every day to visit her.

“When they shut it down, we don’t know where she’s going, or myself when my time comes,” he said.

“I have a licence to drive in Tara in daylight – after that I can’t go anywhere.

“If they shift (Ivy) to Toowoomba or Kingaroy, I don’t know when I’ll ever see her.”

Ray’s daughter in-law Moreen Hite said his health had already deteriorated since hearing his wife might be moved hundreds of kilometres away.

“What they are doing is elder abuse to tear these people away from their family and home,” she said.

“It’s a disgrace to our family, other residents, the whole community and my dad who was a founder.”

SHOCKED: Ray Hite visits his wife Ivy Hite at Tarcoola everyday without fail, although if she is forced to leave, he’s at a loss as to how he will see her. Pic: Supplied

Just months ago Moreen’s own father, Denis James Moran spent the last moments of his 95 years inside the walls of Tarcoola, which he helped to build.

The legendary horseman was heavily involved in the 1994 charity rodeo in Tara to help get the project off the ground.

Member for Maranoa David Littleproud has offered the community a beacon of hope, pledging to stop the closure of Tarcoola.